


Chance

by Kromelitefxturs



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Implied or Off-stage Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Past Abuse, Threesome - M/M/M, Victim Blaming - Self
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-13
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-19 08:38:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/881726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kromelitefxturs/pseuds/Kromelitefxturs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Marcus' horrible treatment of Khan is uncovered, Kirk decides Khan deserves a chance to see what he is capable of when his crew isn't being threatened. </p><p>The Rape/Torture is all past tense and only referenced non-graphically.  </p><p>The Rating and Pairings are for future chapters. Tags will be added as needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I am not a Trekkie! The only knowledge I have of Star Trek comes from the two latest films. If you find mistakes in my Trek lore, please point them out but be gentle with me, I’m admitting I’m a poser upfront! This is my first Trek Fic and first post on AO3. 
> 
> Disclaimer 2: Everything you are about to read is comforting lies told to protect you. Protect you from what you ask? A world in which Kirk, Spock and Khan don’t spend their time fucking on the bridge when everyone else is sleeping. You’re Welcome. (Did you see what I did there? I think myself far more clever than I actually am.)

The deeper the investigation into Khan and Admiral Marcus went, the harder it was for Kirk to want to keep his promise to make Khan pay for his crimes. He was still angry over Pike’s death of course, but he found his anger for the situation resting on Admiral Marcus’ shoulders more so than Khan’s. The tactics used by Marcus to foster Khan’s compliance were deplorable at best, brought to light during the inquisition by those who used to be loyal to Marcus but were now spilling everything in hopes of securing lighter sentences for themselves.

 

Khan never elaborated on the others’ statements nor discussed anything that may have happened when no one else was around to witness it. When asked to confirm the stories, he only said “They are not lying.” and nothing more. No one blamed him for that though, you wouldn’t find many people who would want that kind of information about themselves widely known and discussed.

 

A year of that kind of treatment would have been more than enough to break any normal human completely. The fact that Khan hadn’t was a testament to how advanced he actually was. All things considered, most people involved in the investigation agreed that Khan had coped and reacted far better than was to be expected under those circumstances.

 

The older Spock, who’d warned his younger self about the Khan he’d known, regretted his words. The Khan he’d known hadn’t been subjected to Marcus’ torturous control. While this new Khan certainly had the potential to commit the same crimes his older self had, Spock shouldn’t have judged the younger Khan for them anymore than he’d want his younger self judged on his own mistakes and shortcomings.

 

After months of investigations concluded, the deliberations about Khan’s sentence began. Kirk knew the Admirals held sympathy for what Khan had gone through, but he didn’t know if it was enough for them to decide on a punishment other than death or indefinite cryostasis. Kirk also knew he wouldn’t feel comfortable with either of those outcomes. Khan deserved a chance to show what he could be when his crew’s lives weren’t in danger and he wasn’t being tortured constantly. Kirk believed if Pike was still alive, he’d fully agree.

 

Kirk knew what he had to do, but he didn’t want to do it without consulting his crew first. After all if his plan worked, he would be forcing them in constant contact with Khan. They deserved to have a say in the matter as well. Kirk gathered them all together and outlined his plan. He was only slightly surprised when everyone, including Spock, Bones and most importantly Carol Marcus, agreed with his plan. There were obvious doubts and concerns about Khan killing them all in their sleep and escaping with his crew, but they all agreed he should be given a chance and didn’t see any other way he’d get one. This wasn’t the first time they’d put themselves in harms way to do the right thing and under Captain Kirk, it probably wouldn’t be the last either.

 

With his crews approval Kirk and Spock, who insisted Kirk could use some backup in his endeavour, went to the Admirals to discuss what to do about Khan and his crew.

 

******

 

Khan was sitting on the bed in his cell, back straight as ever, staring straight ahead, when Kirk entered. If Khan was surprised Kirk came all the way in rather than waiting on the other side of the glass barrier he didn’t show it.

 

“Execution or Cryostasis?” Khan deadpanned the question without any indication of feeling. Kirk couldn’t be sure if it was because of Khan’s ability to control his emotions or because he honestly didn’t care.

 

“Neither.”

 

Only because he was looking for it did Kirk notice the twitch in Khan’s jaw before the augment raised his gaze to the Captain. There was understanding in his ice blue eyes. He smirked.

 

“They want more weapons then?” He folded his hands in his lap and leaned back against the wall as he looked up at Kirk, the picture of cool, calm, collected and uncaring.

 

“I’m here to make you a deal. At my suggestion, the Admirals have agreed to release you into my custody. You’ll be fitted with a small tracking device and required to stay in close proximity to me at all times. If you try to escape or harm anyone, you’ll be put back into cryostasis. For now your family will remain in cryostasis in a safe, undisclosed facility. If you can prove you can behave, the Admirals will discuss how and when to wake them up as well.”

 

Khan raised an eyebrow in question. “And what is it that you want then, _Captain_?”

 

“I want you to make sure I don’t regret taking this chance on you. I want you to promise that you won’t hurt anyone, or destroy anything.” Kirk kept his voice authoritative, making it sound like a demand rather than a plea. Kirk knew this arrangement would only work if Khan respected him rather than thought him weak and vulnerable.

 

The confusion was clear in Khan’s eyes even as he schooled his facial features into a blank mask. “What does the tracking device do?”

 

“It tells me where you are at all times.”

 

“And if I go farther away from you than I’m allowed?”

 

“An alarm on the device will go off to let you know you’ve gone too far. If you don’t go back to an acceptable distance in 10 seconds an alert is sent to me.” Kirk doesn’t mention that the alert also gets sent numerous other places in case Khan tries to knock Kirk out before taking off.

 

Khan seemed to contemplate for a few moments before speaking again, voice still without inflection or emotion behind it, though his cynicism was evident. After everything Marcus had done to him, Kirk wasn’t surprised Khan expected similar treatment from him too. “What does it do to me?”

 

“Nothing, it will continue to sound the alarm so hiding won’t be an option. It’s an ankle bracelet made of unbreakable material that will mold to your skin. The only way to remove it would be to cut your own foot off and I don’t imagine you’d get very far hopping away while you’re bleeding to death. You would be caught anyway so there is no need for the device to do anything else.”

 

“The punishment when I’m caught?”

 

Kirk noticed the use of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ but decided against mentioning it. “You’ll be put back in cryostasis.”

 

“And my family?” There, just barely, Kirk could hear the slightest hitch in Khan’s voice. Kirk knew it was probably the safer move to tell Khan they’d be killed if he tried anything. If there was nothing to risk, what would stop Khan from testing his luck with escaping or killing them all. But that would make him no better than Marcus and defeat the point of giving Khan a real chance to prove himself. Besides, if his family was really as important to him as he said the chance to wake them up would be more of a motivator than threatening him with their death.

 

“Nothing will happen to your family. If you can behave, they’ll be woken up. If you can’t, they stay in cryostasis. Either way they won’t be harmed.”

 

Something flashed across Khan’s face lighting quick before he was able to get his emotions back under control. Relief maybe? Though Kirk was sure Khan still didn’t trust him. Chances are if anything Khan was trying desperately not to get his hopes up that Kirk was telling the truth. Kirk couldn’t blame him, but it still hurt just a little to think anyone could think he would use lives as pawns like Marcus had.

 

“What does ‘ _behaving_ ’ entail exactly?”

 

“Well, not hurting or killing anyone obviously. No blowing up buildings or crashing my ship into anything either. You’ll be held to the same rules the rest of my crew is when we’re on the ship and you have to obey the law obviously. That’s it other than of course staying within the designated distance to me, the limits of which will increase the more you prove you can be trusted out of my site.”

 

They fell silent for a few minutes after that, Kirk giving Khan time to think about the arrangement. Kirk doubted Khan believed anything he’d said, but he hoped that Khan would take the offer anyway. Kirk would prove he wasn’t a monster like Marcus and his men, but he wouldn’t be able to if Khan opted to go into cryostasis instead.

 

Finally Khan stood and held his hand out to Kirk. “I accept your terms.”

 

Kirk shook the offered hand with a nod. “Good. You’ll get fitted with the tracking device then we’ll go back to my place and get you settled. I expect this all to go smoothly, understood?”

 

“Yes, of course.” Khan’s body was clearly tense and Kirk had a pretty good idea he knew why and it made his stomach drop a little. Marcus had taken Khan home with him too so he could force himself on the augment whenever he liked.

 

“You can sleep at my apartment if you promise not to try anything stupid but if you’d rather not be tempted you can continue to sleep here in your cell.” Khan was smart enough to know the real reason Kirk was offering, but if Kirk was in his place he wouldn’t appreciate being pitied or coddled over it and he doubted Khan would either.

 

Khan stared intently at Kirk for a moment, no doubt trying to find a tell that Kirk was lying or hiding something from him. Kirk had nothing to hide so he simply waited patiently for Khan to make up his mind. This couldn’t be easy for him and Kirk respected that.

 

“If I change my mind later?”

 

“As long as you don’t give me a reason to rescind it, the offer is always on the table. Likewise I see no reason to tell you no if you ever asked to be put back in a cell.”

 

“In that case I would prefer to sleep at your apartment, at least for now.”

 

“Alright. I’ll go get the people to fit you with the tracking device then we’ll leave.”

 

With a nod Kirk made to leave but was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm, not forcefully, just enough to get him to hesitate. He turned back to see Khan open his mouth to say something then shut it again before finally saying “Thank you, Captain.” and letting go.

 

Kirk smiled. “You’re welcome, Khan.” Then he left to go find the people who would set up Khan’s tracking device so they could leave.


	2. Welcome Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirk takes Khan home and learns that the after effects of abuse run far deeper than he anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings Specific to this Chapter: 
> 
> Descriptions of past tense abuse  
> Minor Self-Blame of an abuse victim

It took nearly two hours to get Khan fitted with the tracking device. The device had to be calibrated to the exact dimensions of Kirk’s apartment so that Khan could go anywhere within the apartment but wouldn’t be able to step out the door. The fact that Kirk’s apartment wasn’t perfectly square made that task slightly more difficult and it seemed he was the only one willing to take the easy way out and just set the device to a max square footage limit and call it a day. How much trouble could Khan really get in if he could take five steps out the door if Kirk happened to be standing in the far back corner of his apartment? Apparently the Admirals thought it was quite a lot which seemed to amuse Khan. He was probably proud they were giving him, hopefully, more credit than he deserved. Hopefully.

 

After the device was set it then needed to be tested and retested to make sure it would go off at all the specified dimensions both in Kirk’s sight line and through walls.  Throughout the whole two hours it was Kirk who was getting bored, impatient and whiney while Khan barely said two words the entire time and those were only when asked direct questions by the doctors and technicians fitting the device. The only emotion he showed the entire time was a brief flash of surprise when they adjusted the device after he confirmed that it was just a tad too tight. He obviously didn’t expect his comfort or well being to be taken into consideration anymore this time than it had last and Kirk knew it wasn’t going to be easy to break Khan of those thought patterns.

 

Finally they were free to leave the holding facility and head to Kirk’s apartment, noticeably without any security guards to escort them.

 

Khan looked around as they made their way through the Starfleet complex to the apartment building Kirk lived in trying to see where they’d hidden the snipers and guards that had to be waiting for him to make a move. He couldn’t seem to find any and eventually he gave up searching in favor of looking at the destruction he’d caused the city when he crash landed here nearly 5 months ago. They’d made obvious headway on the reconstruction efforts, but there was still a long way to go.

 

Kirk noticed him frowning at their surroundings. “Something wrong?”

 

Khan brought his attention back to the front, slightly embarrassed he’d been caught staring and tried to cover it with feigned nonchalance. “There are no security guards watching us.”

 

“Should there be?”

 

Khan turned to look at Kirk in surprise. He’d been trying to manipulate Kirk when he’d told him he believed he had a conscience back on the enterprise but these last few hours had shown him that maybe he hadn’t been wrong about the captain. He wasn’t sure if he respected Kirk’s determination and bravery or if he thought him foolish for trusting Khan so easily without any good reason to. “No, I agreed to behave and I intend to follow through on that. I’m simply surprised you believed me so willingly.”

 

Kirk smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. If I’d believed you couldn’t do this, I wouldn’t have offered you the chance in the first place. Besides, I’m of the belief that people will work harder to keep someone’s trust than they will to earn it. You want me to trust you because it means you’ll have more freedom and privileges than if I didn’t, and I want to trust you because it means I was right about you and I kind of like being right.” He smirked. “So this is win win for both of us right?”

 

Khan stared at Kirk dumbfounded for a moment before nodding in agreement. He really had underestimated the captain in so many ways. “Right.”

 

Kirk slapped Khan playfully on the back. “Good. Now let’s get up to my apartment. I don’t know about you but I missed lunch and I’m starving.”

 

******

 

Once inside Kirk’s apartment Khan was greeted with the smell of pizza and the sight of the Vulcan who’d tricked him into thinking his family was dead and then subdued him after his rampage of the city.

 

Kirk looked at the pizza with a mix of disbelief and desperation. “You ordered pizza?” Spock wasn’t one who often encouraged Kirk to indulge in his unhealthy vices.

 

“I assumed you both missed lunch this afternoon. I also thought a welcoming gift would be appropriate and a pizza seemed like something Khan would be familiar with and perhaps enjoy.”

 

Kirk stepped forward without a word and grabbed Spock around the neck, pulling him into a kiss. Khan couldn’t say he was surprised. The rage he’d witnessed in Spock when they fought had been passion fueled. It made complete sense later when he’d found out that they needed his blood to bring the captain back from the dead. He’d have been more surprised to find that they hadn’t been in a relationship then or at least developed one since. As they kissed he looked around and noted the apartment’s immaculate state. Even the fan had been dusted. Obviously the Vulcan wasn’t just over for a visit.

 

After a moment Spock leaned back, breaking the kiss. “Jim, I do not think our coupling is appropriate in front of Khan considering his previous experiences with the former Admiral Marcus.”

 

Kirk groaned and face palmed, of course Spock wouldn’t think it necessary to be subtle about that particular situation. Khan on the other hand, showed no outward signs of being upset by the comment. “I assure you that I harbor no abhorrence to sexual activity despite my previous _experiences_ with the former Admiral.”

 

Kirk saw the makings of a long and extremely awkward conversation and decided it was best to change to subject quickly. He clapped his hands, then rubbed them together before announcing, “I’m starved, we should eat.” He pointed to the dining table. “Khan you go have a seat, we’ll get the plates.”

 

Khan nodded and did as instructed. While he waited at the table he took the opportunity to look around the main part of the apartment. It was an open concept plan with a living room area on one side with some couches and chairs all facing a large TV and entertainment center. The dining table was in the middle of the space to separate the living room from the kitchenette. A hallway then led to what Khan assumed was the bedrooms and bathroom. The apartment wasn’t very big, but Starfleet officers didn’t need much as they didn’t spend a large amount of time at home anyway.

 

Kirk and Spock brought three plates of pizza and bottles of water to the table and sat down to enjoy their late lunch. Kirk started stuffing his face almost immediately, while Spock ate at a much more leisurely pace. Khan simply eyed his own plate with concern. Kirk was halfway through his second piece when he noticed Khan wasn’t eating. “What’s wrong, you don’t like pizza?” His mouth full and face covered in sauce.

 

“What’s in it?”

 

It was Spock who answered. “It is a plain cheese pizza. I was unsure as to what toppings you would prefer and did not want to risk getting something you would not enjoy.”

 

“No. I mean in my slices specifically, what did you put in them? I’ll still eat them of course but I’d like to know what to expect later. If that’s alright?”

 

Kirk and Spock both shared confused looks before Kirk remembered some of the details about Marcus’ treatment of Khan. Sometimes the former Admiral would drug Khan’s food to keep him docile when it suited him and other times he’d poison the food to make Khan sick in punishment.

Kirk had sent Khan to the table while he’d gotten the food ready and Khan must have assumed he’d done so in order to drug or poison the food while he wasn’t looking.

 

Kirk swallowed his mouthful. “I didn’t do anything to it. Here, switch me a piece of yours.” Kirk pushed his plate towards Khan so the augment could switch out a piece and know that he was telling the truth.

 

Khan looked at the offered plate for a moment before he shook his head and picked up his own slice to begin eating. “That’s alright Captain, I believe you.”

 

“It’s ‘Jim’ at home.” Kirk corrected.

 

“My apologies, _Jim_.” Khan almost sounded uncomfortable using his first name but he began eating his pizza so Kirk figured it was for the best to just let it go for now and enjoy their meal now that all of them were actually eating it.

They ate in silence for a moment before Spock turned to Khan. “May I ask you a question?”

 

Khan nodded and Kirk cringed. Spock had found the details of Khan’s mistreatment just as unacceptable as he did, but whereas Kirk felt it was better to just avoid talking about it as much as was possible, Spock didn’t seem to agree.

 

“If you believed the food to be drugged, why would you alert us to the fact that you knew? Would it not have been more logical to feign ignorance and simply claim to not be hungry?”

 

Kirk braced for the impending explosion from Khan. He knew from personal experience what happened when someone used anger to hide deep emotional pain and he wouldn’t be surprised to find that Khan used that particular coping mechanism when confronted with discussions of his past abuse.

 

He was completely surprised however when Khan answered calmly without a hint of anger. “I assumed my food was drugged because Marcus repeatedly drugged my food for various reasons. If I refused to eat it, he’d find other means to drug me and I’d go without food for a time as punishment. Some of the drugs made me violently ill and I found it was less painful to vomit when I had something in my stomach to throw up. Eating the drugged food willingly was the lesser of two evils.”

 

After he finished explaining he went back to eating his pizza as if it wasn’t a big deal. Kirk on the other hand decided he’d lost his appetite. Considering he’d already devoured 4 or 5 pieces it wasn’t exactly that big of a loss anyway.

 

“I am sorry you went through that but I can assure you that Jim will never do anything of that nature to you.”  

 

“I appreciate that, thank you.” Khan nodded to Spock then turned to asses Kirk for a moment. “I’m sorry if I offended you with my incorrect assumptions. You’ve been very hospitable and do not deserve the associations I keep drawing between you and the former Admiral.”

 

Kirk almost wanted to scream at him. How could anyone be conditioned to expect a certain kind of treatment and then apologize for being unable to dissociate themselves from that conditioning? Kirk realized this was going to be far harder than he’d expected. He’d need to talk to a professional and get tips on how to properly deal with an abuse victim’s recovery. For now he’d simply stick with his avoid and distract method.

 

“No need to apologize, it obviously isn’t your fault. This is a new situation for all of us, we’re bound to make a few mistakes as we figure it out. Anyway, I think we’re all done with lunch. Let’s clean this up and I will give you the grand tour.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the bookmarks/kudos/comments from Chapter 1. I really appreciate knowing this story is being well received and I hope this chapter lives up to expectations!


	3. The First Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first night and morning after of Khan staying with Kirk and Spock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think there is anything specifically triggering about this chapter beyond the whole fics warnings but if I overlooked something, please let me know and I'll add it.

The tour of Kirk and Spock’s apartment was pretty straight forward. He’d already seen the main portion of the apartment so Kirk only took a moment pointing out the obvious living room, dining room and kitchen areas before moving down the hallway which contained 3 doors. 

The one on the left was a large bathroom which looked mostly unused as it was the guest bathroom and Starfleet officers hardly had the time for entertaining guests. On the right was a bedroom that had been converted instead into an office space. 

At the end of the hall was the master suite. To one side was the closet and door to the en suite bathroom while the other contained two large beds.

“That’s us,” Kirk said pointing to one of the beds, “and that’s you,” pointing to the other. 

It was obvious to Khan by the marks in the carpet that until recently there had only been one bed centered along the side wall that had been pushed to one side to make room for the other bed. Khan hadn’t been expecting a bed at all so the fact that Kirk and Spock had not only given him one, but rearranged their own to make equal room for both beds rather than shoving his in the corner was greatly appreciated by the augment. 

“Unfortunately, we have to share,” Kirk went on, “at least for now, but if things go well we can see about repurposing the office into your bedroom. In the meantime, we got you a dresser and made room in the closet for you. We already bought you some basic essentials, but we figured you’d rather pick out your own clothes than have us do it for you so we’ll need to go shopping soon. The bathroom is through that door. We got you everything we thought you’d need but if you need anything else just let us know. And that about does it for the tour so what would you like to do now?” 

Khan was a bit weary of the question. He hadn’t been given the opportunity to decide what he wanted to do in a long time. It may have been a trap, but Khan hadn’t had a good nights sleep since waking up from cryosleep, especially not in a bed that looked as comfortable as the one Kirk and Spock were providing him with and the chance to sink into it was worth the risk. 

“I’m rather tired actually, if that’s alright.” 

“Of course. We’ll be in the living room if you need anything.” 

“Thank you Captain, Commander.” He nodded to each of them, who returned the gesture and left the bedroom, closing the door behind them. 

When Khan’s alone in the bedroom he hesitates for a minute, unsure what to do with himself. He hasn’t been alone, truly alone, since he woke up from cryostasis and it’s a feeling he’s not used to. Even when he escaped Marcus, the feeling of being hunted kept him on edge and looking over his shoulder constantly. 

These are Kirk and Spock’s private quarters, so he doubts there are cameras anywhere and a cursory look around the room doesn’t show any signs of them. Khan thinks about taking the time alone to check for them, but he decides it doesn’t really matter anyway if they are there. If Kirk was sincere about his crew members safety, Khan has no need to plan their rescue thus no real need of complete privacy. 

Instead Khan walks to the dresser Kirk pointed out as his and finds some socks, boxers and undershirts. He grabs a clean shirt and boxers and heads to the bathroom to change. It’s a full bathroom with a large tub and shower, water and sonic, and Khan thinks about how great a proper shower would be but he wasn’t given express permission to do take one and even if he had, he’s too tired to properly enjoy it right now anyway so he simply changes, brushes his teeth with the extra set that had been set out for him then heads back to the bedroom and climbs in the bed. 

The bed is far more comfortable than it looks and Khan was tired before, but now he’s downright exhausted and he’s asleep in a matter of seconds, far more warm and comfortable than he’s ever remembered being before in his life. 

When he wakes up later, it’s pitch black in the bedroom and he can hear faint noises coming from the other bed that he quickly recognizes as the sounds of skin slapping gently against skin, kissing and the occasional quiet moan followed by shushing. In the dark of the room he can tell that Kirk and Spock are under the blankets, can see the slight movements under it, but can’t actually see what they’re doing though he’s smart enough to draw the proper conclusions, at least they’re being quiet about it. 

Khan debats alerting them to the fact that he’s awake but decides instead to roll over so he’s facing the wall, pull the blankets tighter around himself and try to go back to sleep. It’s been a while since he’s had a good nights sleep, and the bed is extremely comfortable so he manages to fall back asleep before Kirk and Spock have finished coupling. 

The next time he wakes up the sun is only just coming through the curtains. Across from him Kirk is laying on his back in the middle of the bed, taking as much room as he can while Spock sleeps more compactly against the captain’s side, head resting on Kirk’s shoulder and Kirk’s arm holding him close. 

He need to use the bathroom, he’d really like a shower and he’s hungry, but he doesn’t know what he is and isn’t allowed to do yet and he doesn’t want to ruin the chance to wake up his crew over such trivial things so he rolls onto his back to stare up at the ceiling and keeps himself distracted by thinking of each of his crew members and what it will be like when they’re awake.   
That only lasts for a few moments, however, before his stomach growls loudly and he hears stirring from the other bed. Khan turns his head to see Spock blink awake. 

“Good Morning.” The Vulcan says with a nod before closing his eyes again. “You may have the shower first if you like, Jim won’t be up for a while yet.” 

“Thank You.” Khan returns before climbing out of bed quietly and grabbing a change of clothes. It’s a bit cold so he finds a pair pants and a sweater in the section of the closet Krik indicated was Khan’s. 

Khan takes a shower much hotter and longer than he’d been allowed either with Marcus or while being held by Starfleet. Part of him wants to stay in until the water runs cold but he isn’t sure if Spock and Kirk use water or the sonic feature and he wants to make sure he leaves enough hot water for them just in case. If he doesn’t abuse the privilege of taking a shower, maybe he’ll continue to get it. 

When he emerges from the bathroom clean and dressed, Kirk is still sprawled out on the bed but the Vulcan is missing. Khan’s stomach growls again so he decides to leave the bedroom for fear of waking the captain up and finds Spock in the kitchen in the midst of making breakfast. It smells heavenly and his stomach growls in desire once more. 

“May I help?” Khan offers partially to be helpful but also to help soften any potential punishment he may get for leaving the bedroom without permission. 

The Vulcan simply nods and asks “Can you make eggs?” 

Khan nods in returns and sets about getting what he’ll need from the fridge. Spock didn’t specify how to make the eggs and Khan decides he’d prefer scrambled so that’s what he makes. Spock doesn’t seem to care and instead goes about doing as he was before Khan arrived. 

They work well together as they cook, moving around the small kitchen with ease. They don’t talk much save for simple things like when Spock needs a pan from the cupboard behind Khan or Khan needs to know where a spatula is. Khan finishes the eggs before Spock is done with the bacon and the augment notices the oranges on the counter next to a juicer and decides to start on those as well. Spock doesn’t reprimand him, simply tells him where the garbage is so he can throw out the peels when he’s done. All in all it’s a rather strange but still comfortable experience for Khan. It’s something he could easily get used to but tries to remind himself to not get his hopes up in case it doesn’t last. 

They’re just about finished when Kirk comes down the hallway, hair sticking up in all directions, yawning and rubbing his fist into one eye. He’s wearing pajama bottoms that ride low on his hips and no shirt.

Kirk surveys the scene in front of him then smirks, “Two hot boys in my kitchen making me breakfast, not a bad way to wake up.” His still half-asleep brain realizes what he said a half beat later and he turns to Khan with a frown. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Then seemingly realizing his current state of dress adds, “and I should probably go and put on a shirt.” before turning and making his way back to the bedroom. 

Khan was relieved to realize that neither the shirtlessness of the captain, the comment nor the situation he woke up to in the middle of the night really bothered him. Khan had told Spock he harbored no abhorrence to sexual activity after Marcus, but the truth was he hadn’t been in a sexual situation since escaping Marcus to know for sure if that was true. He was glad to find there were no lasting effects from Marcus’ treatment and his augmented superiority remained intact. The fact that he could still recognize and appreciate Kirk’s obvious sexual appeal was comforting and did not make him a whore, no matter what Marcus may have wanted him to believe. Kirk was simply an attractive man, you’d have to be blind not to see it. 

Spock hands Khan a stack of dishes and asks him to start setting the table, pulling him out of his internal musings. If Spock is bothered by the fact that his boyfriend just referred to another man as hot, he shows no sign of it, though as a Vulcan that’s no surprise to Khan. 

When Kirk returns fully dressed Spock is putting the last of the food on the table. Kirk places a small kiss on Spock’s temple as he walks past to take his seat. 

To Khan, who is sitting patiently waiting for permission to start eating, assuming he’s even allowed the food at all, Kirk offers a smile and says “Eat up, you must be starving since you slept through dinner last night.” 

Khan wastes no more time filling up his plate and beginning to eat ravenously. He hadn’t had a good home cooked meal like this since Marcus woke him up and he wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity. 

Kirk and Spock took a moment to watch him devouring his food with a mixture of amusement and sadness before they turn to their own plates and begin having a conversation Khan’s too wrapped up in his meal to care about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry this chapter took so long to get done. I had a lot going on in my personal life (including getting married) and other things kept getting in the way of writing. I wanted this chapter to cover more ground than it ended up doing, but I figured you've waited long enough and I'd at least give you something to prove I was still here and still invested in this fic. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you after such a long wait for it. I promise I will do my utmost to post far more regularly in the future. I'm so grateful for all the comments encouraging me to keep up with this fic. It means a lot knowing there are so many of you who want to read more of this fic and I hope to keep your interest through to the end. Thanks!


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